New DelhiAt the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, the Rajasthan Royals take on the Chennai Super Kings to begin their Indian Premier League 2026 campaign. The toss was pushed just five minutes later, despite the surrounding rain. Even though there were clouds over the Barsapra Cricket Stadium, the game went on despite the gloomy sky.
Sanju Samson has left the Rajasthan Royals and is no longer with the team. Sam Curran was acquired by the Royals after Samson was traded to CSK.
Samson is currently with CSK and is probably going to take over for the team, which has a sizable fan base. This could also be interpreted as a handoff from one superstar to another, Samson, who has a sizable fan base of his own.
RR's new captain, Riyan ParagRiyan Parag was appointed captain by RR following the 2026 auction. Head coach Kumar Sangakkara interviewed Parag and a few other applicants before selecting Parag to be their captain. "The night before the [T20 World Cup] warm-up game, I played against USA I got a call from Manoj [Badale] and Sanga [Sangakkara] that said, 'Congratulations, you are the captain.' A lot of emotions and then straight to the matter, like next season, what do we need to change or do better so that we finish in a better place," Parag had said in a video uploaded on RR's social handles.
Riyan Parag was appointed captain by RR following the 2026 auction. Head coach Kumar Sangakkara interviewed Parag and a few other applicants before selecting Parag to be their captain. "I played against the USA the night before the [T20 World Cup] warm-up game, and Manoj [Badale] and Sanga [Sangakkara] called to congratulate me on becoming captain. In a video posted on RR's social media accounts, Parag stated, "A lot of emotions and then straight to the matter, like next season, what do we need to change or do better so that we finish in a better place."Parag won the toss and chose to bowl first in Guwahati. Parag said he wants to make the most of the weather since it is raining. "We are going to bowl first. A lot of rain has fallen. There will be some wetness. It feels nice (to be captaining), the support has been incredible. We hope for a good campaign. The goal is to win the title. We tried to have a lot of smart cricketers." Parag said at the toss.
Also, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said he wanted to bowl first. "It was a no-brainer to bowl first." We still want to start on a good note, though. You saw how things went for us last year. We went to the auction with some strategy. We hope they go very well. Our overseas players are Short, Overton, Noor and Matt Henry," Gaikwad said at the toss.
More to come...